Annual Department Report
Academic Year 2010-2011
Department of Pharmacy
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery
1. List of recent publications
Books
Baldacchino D.
The use of NSAIDs and patient safety. Germany:
Academic Publishing (ISBN 978-3-8465-1287-6)- in publication.
LAP LAMBERT
Adapted from MSc
dissertation (2011) carried out under the supervision of Professor Lilian M. Azzopardi.
Department’s Journal
The 2011 issue of the Department’s Journal, Journal of Euromed Pharmacy (JEMP) was
published in March 2011.
The journal carries research papers from post-graduate
students. (link http://www.um.edu.mt/ms/pharmacy/research/jemp)
Publications in refereed journals
Buhagiar L, Cassar OA, Brincat MP, Buttigieg GP, Serracino-Inglott A, Zarb-Adami M,
Azzopardi LM. Predictors of post-caesarean section pain and analgesic consumption.
Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology 2011; 27 (2): 185-191.
Camilleri L, Schembri A, Serracino-Inglott A. Prevalence, characteristics and
management of endometriosis in an infertile Maltese population. International Journal of
Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 2011 (accepted for publication).
Fenech J, Galea R, Serracino-Inglott A, Azzopardi LM. Management and Patient
Knowledge of Osteoporosis. Journal of Applied Therapeutic Research 2011 (accepted
for publication).
Pirotta I, Azzopardi LM, Serracino-Inglott A. Patient management in colorectal cancer.
Hospital Pharmacy Europe 2011 (accepted for publication).
Serracino-Inglott A, Azzopardi LM, Mallia S. Comparison of medical devices used for
blood pressure and blood glucose measurement. IJJP 2011; 19(S2): 95.
Wirth F, Tabone F, Azzopardi LM, Gauci M, Zarb Adami M, Serracino Inglott A.
Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services
in Malta. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research 2010; 1 (4): 189-194.
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Zammit MC, Fiorentino L, Cassar K, Azzopardi LM, LaFerla G. Factors Affecting
Gentamicin Penetration in Lower Extremity Ischemic Tissues With Ulcers. International
Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds. 2011. Aug. 19.
Publications in refereed conference proceedings
Azzopardi LM, Serracino-Inglott A. Developing skills for patient management in primary
and secondary care scenarios. Conference proceedings, EAFP Annual Conference,
Lisbon, June 2011.
Other Publications
Attard K, Zarb Adami M, Azzopardi LM, Serracino-Inglott A. Management of consumers’
pharmaceutical waste in a pharmacy setting (Parts 1 and 2), The Synapse. Issue 03 and
04/11.
Zammit G, Farrugia R, Barbara C, Azzopardi LM, Serracino-Inglott A, Zarb-Adami M,
Grech V. Anticoagulation services in Malta – an economic study comparing a central
laboratory model vs. a point-of-care approach. Int. Jnl. Lab. Hem. 2010. Dec. 1-2.
Presentations
Serracino-Inglott A, Azzopardi LM, Schembri MC.
Pharmacist Prescribing: devising a
course for pharmacists, oral presentation, EAFP Annual Conference, Lisbon, June
2011.
Galea C, Zammit K, Scicluna-Giusti W, Azzopardi LM, Serracino-Inglott A, LaFerla G.
Gastric amylase activity and the use of proton pump inhibitors, oral presentation, EPSA
Annual Conference, April 2011.
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2. Projects externally funded
a) Research and Innovation Programme 2008 (MCST) part-funded.
Project: Increasing the yield in the Production of Slow release Pellets in the manufacture
of tablets and capsules (IҮPOS)
Project coordinator – Professor Lilian M. Azzopardi (Department of Pharmacy)
Collaborating partner – Starpharma Ltd. Malta
The rationale is to improve on present process of manufacturing of slow release pellets
to ensure a better yield. This will make the process more competitive and improve quality
within a Good Manufacturing Process-led environment
b) RTDI funded project: Modulation of nuclear receptor function – an in-silico approach.
Co-ordinator - Dr Claire Shoemake (Department of Pharmacy)
3. International conferences/seminars/meetings
The Department of Pharmacy organised the Annual Pharmacy Symposium between the
7 and 11 March 2011 where fifth year pharmacy students and final year MSc (Pharmacy)
students presented their projects and dissertation respectively. Fourth year pharmacy
students presented works-in-progress on their project through a poster and short
discussion and the third and second year students presented their preliminary work on
their project in a poster presentation.
On the 8 March 2011, the Department organised an Academic Evening in
commemoration of Professor Steve Hudson. The session was attended by international
faculty.
Conferences where members of staff participated:
October 2010
Patient Safety Update in Europe, Luton, UK
December 2010
Workshop on training requirements for the sectoral professions in
the EU, Brussels
February 2011
CONECT Working Group, Romania
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April 2011
International Association of Pharmaceutical Technology (APV)
Annual Meeting. During the meeting Professor Lilian M. Azzopardi
and Professor Anthony Serracino-Inglott were each awarded the
2011 APV award for their contribution in promoting academic and
pharmaceutical industry collaboration.
April 2011
International Coalition on Neuropathic Pain, The Netherlands
April 2011
Workshop on the minimum training requirements for pharmacists,
Brussels
May 2011
European Regulatory Affairs Forum, The Netherlands
May 2011
EULAR- Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, London
June 2011
Annual Congress of the European Association of Faculties of
Pharmacy
September 2011
Royal Pharmaceutical Society Annual Conference, London
4. Collaboration with third parties
Establishment of collaboration for student placements and/or joint research programmes.
Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy:
Mater Dei Hospital clinical departments and
department of pharmacy.
Karin
Grech
Rehabilitation
Hospital,
Pharmacy department
Sir Paul Boffa Oncology Hospital
Government authorities:
Government Pharmaceutical Services
Community pharmacy:
Private community pharmacies
Pharmaceutical Industry:
Starpharma, Actavis, Aurobindo, Poligas,
Arrow Pharm Ltd.
Regulatory Affairs:
Associated Drugs, Freedor, JV Pharma
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Erasmus collaborations:
Student-staff mobility with several schools of
pharmacy in Italy, France, Spain, Germany,
Brussels, Poland, United Kingdom
International collaboration
School of Pharmacy, University of Illinois,
Chicago
5.
Year Overview
The Department has developed a new three-year course leading to the degree in Bachelor
of Science in Pharmaceutical Technology. The course programme has been approved and
first intake is expected October 2011.
The Department worked on the re-structuring of the degree awarded to graduates in
pharmacy (MPharm). This entailed reviewing and developing new course material. The
new structure as approved by Senate is available for students joining the course in October
2011.
In June 2011, six students have completed their post-graduate studies leading to the postgraduate degree in Master of Science in Pharmacy. Thirty-seven final year undergraduate
students completed the course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
with candidates obtaining Second Class Classification upwards. The external examiner was
Professor Alan Lau, from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Seventeen pharmacy students in their fourth year participated in exchange programmes at
different European schools of pharmacy.
The Department hosted 18 students from a
number of pharmacy schools in Europe on the Erasmus mobility programme. During their
stay, these students either followed modules offered within the pharmacy curriculum, or
carried out their project or undertook an internship.
Post-graduate students at the department- PhD studies
Alison Anastasi
Pharmaceutical care models in heart failure
Marise Gauci
Quality assurance of prescribing in the elderly population
Louise Grech
Pharmaceutical care models in patients with rheumatological
conditions
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Post-graduate students at the department- MPhil studies
Francesca Wirth
Development of a Quality Management System for Clinical
Pharmacy Services (submitted for examination)
Marie Claire Zammit
Distribution of Anti-Infective Agents in Ischaemic Peripheries
(submitted for examination)
Professor Lilian M. Azzopardi
Head, Department of Pharmacy
29 September 2011
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